A vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication system creates a large number of potential uses that include crash avoidance, communications, law enforcement, and entertainment. One such system is the Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) system. A vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication system would include a common message set (CMS), which is broadcast by each vehicle, that is comprised of relevant kinematical and location information including GPS/Vehicle position, velocity, vehicular dimensions, as well as other relevant vehicle information.
For example, in a crash avoidance system implementation utilizing the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication system, a vehicle would utilize the CMS messages and analyze any received information to determine if a crash was imminent. If a crash with another vehicle was imminent, it would send a confirmation message to the other vehicle and then internally exchange information with vehicle sub-systems to mitigate vehicle/occupant damage/injury before crashing. For example, once the accident seems likely, the vehicle sub-systems such as airbags and seatbelts can be instructed to prepare for a crash.
Other high-end applications, including, but not limited to Internet access and telephony are also possible over such a vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication system.
Given this exchange of personal driver and vehicle information (e.g., over-speeding on the highway, passing another vehicle on the right) system users (such as drivers, vehicle owners, or other users) will desire privacy protection and will not wish to be specifically tracked electronically. Conversely, government agencies, law enforcement, infrastructure providers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will desire ways to authenticate users/vehicles, protect the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication system from hackers or attackers, and desire a way to track problem vehicles, problem users and/or malevolent actors and revoke their access to the system.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for authenticated quasi-anonymous certification of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication systems for system users and motor vehicles.